Menu
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
Latest activity
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles and first posts only
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Help Support The Rugby Forum :
Forums
Featured
European Champions & Challenge Cup
Heineken Cup talks "have now ended"
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Peat" data-source="post: 598448" data-attributes="member: 42330"><p>Actually, I very much expressed my doubt that this would follow. As</p><p></p><p>a) Some teams might be very happy just to get to 6th and throw everything at the HEC year in, year out - old Munster would have done</p><p></p><p>and more importantly</p><p></p><p>b) Leinster - or at least Leinster a couple of years back - could have probably walked to a Pro 12 semi-final using their 2nds even if everyone else was going full tilt. Or at the very least done about half the league games and allow the other guys to pick up the rest.</p><p></p><p>So, I'm honestly not certain they'd have to change what they were doing a great deal. Particularly the big Irish provinces, who I think are currently financially a great deal ahead of the pack. They've already been getting the league positions with far more onerous international restrictions than the rest of the league.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Re - Funding for Dragons - tbh, I can see PD's point and I think Welsh rugby needs to consider it. Yes, the way Connacht was treated was shabby, and yes the IRFU are doing the right thing for Irish rugby in smoothing it over now - but Irish rugby is in a different position to the Welsh. Irish rugby has built three thriving provinces and can afford to start looking around at ways to improve the fourth - even then, I understand a lot of it was left in Connacht's hands. The Welsh need some standard bearers. They need a team to win whatever European competition is going, they need teams who will regularly draw in 15,000 a go (Ulster will do that when Ravenhill is big enough), they need teams who are successful and have big names. And then, hopefully, they can start boosting up the regions left behind. You don't want to wind up the Dragons. But if the Dragons can survive a few seasons floating on the wind doing their best with the scraps from the table, maybe Ospreys or Blues can become something. Because, right now, I think Welsh regional rugby is sliding into a trap of being equally crap.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Peat, post: 598448, member: 42330"] Actually, I very much expressed my doubt that this would follow. As a) Some teams might be very happy just to get to 6th and throw everything at the HEC year in, year out - old Munster would have done and more importantly b) Leinster - or at least Leinster a couple of years back - could have probably walked to a Pro 12 semi-final using their 2nds even if everyone else was going full tilt. Or at the very least done about half the league games and allow the other guys to pick up the rest. So, I'm honestly not certain they'd have to change what they were doing a great deal. Particularly the big Irish provinces, who I think are currently financially a great deal ahead of the pack. They've already been getting the league positions with far more onerous international restrictions than the rest of the league. Re - Funding for Dragons - tbh, I can see PD's point and I think Welsh rugby needs to consider it. Yes, the way Connacht was treated was shabby, and yes the IRFU are doing the right thing for Irish rugby in smoothing it over now - but Irish rugby is in a different position to the Welsh. Irish rugby has built three thriving provinces and can afford to start looking around at ways to improve the fourth - even then, I understand a lot of it was left in Connacht's hands. The Welsh need some standard bearers. They need a team to win whatever European competition is going, they need teams who will regularly draw in 15,000 a go (Ulster will do that when Ravenhill is big enough), they need teams who are successful and have big names. And then, hopefully, they can start boosting up the regions left behind. You don't want to wind up the Dragons. But if the Dragons can survive a few seasons floating on the wind doing their best with the scraps from the table, maybe Ospreys or Blues can become something. Because, right now, I think Welsh regional rugby is sliding into a trap of being equally crap. [/QUOTE]
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Featured
European Champions & Challenge Cup
Heineken Cup talks "have now ended"
Top
